New life has been breathed into Granville’s oldest working bar as new owners have renovated and reopened the Riverside Pub on Main Street.

“I want to bring the old Granville into the new,” said co-owner Richard Schulz. “I’m trying to keep the history of Granville.”

Schulz said he and his nephew Robert Troy have essentially rebuilt the entire building. They ripped out much of the interior of the pub and installed new wood flooring, new roofing, a side bar and more.

The bar, which has a lot of history, used to be a very small space on the other side of the street until it was moved to its current location along the MettoweeRiver, Schulz said. Then, in the 1980’s, the bar underwent a large expansion.

In an effort to create a neighborhood pub, Schulz is filling the walls with prints of old photographs depicting former residents and scenes of Granville.

“I’m trying to bring back a lot of family history,” he said.

Steve Saltis, who is in line to be the next Granville Chamber of Commerce president, said this new development is good news.

“The chamber is happy when any new business comes to the area,” Saltis said.

As far as what the new pub brings to the table, Schulz said all sorts of beverages from seasonal beer to wine will be available. There will be a menu consisting of typical fare such as cheeseburgers and sandwiches, and the menu to Ma and Pa’s place, which Schulz co-owns, will also be offered.

Schulz is excited that food will be available at all hours at the pub.

“If the bar’s open at 2 a.m. and you want a hamburger, you can get it,” he said, adding that the establishment will be open every day of the week from 3 p.m. through close. There will be musical entertainment and dancing at Riverside Pub on the weekends, and there is also a pool table and a separate bar area for the pool league.

Schulz hopes to make Sunday a sports day, where fans will be able to enjoy all the games, fights and races they want on the eight flat-screen televisions he has installed.

In the future, Schulz and Troy are hoping to install a seven-foot screened-in porch, which would wrap around the building and over a section of the river. Following that project they would look into expanding the kitchen and menu as well. Though the pub has been open and operating since New Year’s Eve, a grand opening will be held the weekend of Jan. 18.